"Understood!"
As he spoke, the red-caped figure shot up from the ground, soaring into the sky.
At the same time, in another direction, a crimson blur sprinted into the distance at a speed no less than Superman's.
"Watt, I need you to hold off the Kryptonian's attack until The Flash finishes accelerating."
"I'll do my best."
Qingshui ended the call and looked at the middle-aged Kryptonian who had landed before him.
Zod!
"Was Nam killed by your hands?"
The Kryptonian general scrutinized Qingshui.
"So far, I've only killed one alien. Thank you for telling me his name."
Qingshui's tone was relaxed, but his expression was serious as he looked at Zod.
Though Zod was still wearing his Kryptonian battle armor, he wasn't wearing his helmet.
This meant he had already adapted to the enhancements brought by the yellow sun.
This was going to be tough to deal with…
"To die on the battlefield, to die a worthy death. You gave Nam the most glorious end a warrior could ask for, so I shall grant you the same glory."
Zod's face was cold, and he clenched his fists.
*Boom!*
A sonic boom erupted as a massive iron fist rapidly grew larger in front of Qingshui.
*CRASH!*
Qingshui swiftly ducked, dodging the attack, ignoring the large crater that appeared in the building behind him from Zod's punch. He feigned a punch with his left hand, while his right hand, clenched into a fist, shot upwards directly at Zod's face.
*Bang!*
Fists met palm, sending out a ripple of air.
Zod stood firm, grabbing the White Knight's right arm with one hand, then yanked it back, his body slamming into Qingshui like a cannonball.
Zod, supremely confident in his combat skills, chose close-quarters combat, intending to directly tear apart Qingshui's armor!
Zod had only just been exposed to the sunlight, so his stats couldn't possibly be as high as Superman's. However, he was currently wearing high-tech Kryptonian battle armor, which provided a significant boost to both strength and speed.
If not for the fact that the White Knight's outer shell was plated with highly durable Promethium, capable of absorbing most energy, including kinetic energy, the White Knight would surely have been crippled by now, and Qingshui would have long since fled in disarray.
Amidst the dust, countless more buildings were destroyed in the clash between the two.
"You're quite good. Even without this metal shell, you possess excellent combat abilities and military acumen. I will grant you the honor a warrior deserves."
As Zod spoke, he tore off his heavily damaged Kryptonian battle armor, revealing his muscular physique beneath the black, form-fitting inner suit.
He was adapting to Earth's environment more and more rapidly. Now, having shed his Kryptonian armor, his body floated in mid-air just like Superman's.
When exposed to sunlight, Kryptonians grow stronger the more they fight!
Qingshui didn't reply, but his heart sank.
Current Speed Force remaining: 10.2%.
This was the fastest the Speed Force had ever been depleted in any of their previous engagements.
Earlier, to ensure he could secure a Kryptonian body, he had expended a considerable amount of Speed Force.
This was certainly a worthwhile trade; with Cisco's Speed Force Cannon and a speedster with Speed Force, Qingshui could consistently recharge the Speed Force Dagger.
But Zod was too strong.
Although his current stats in all aspects couldn't compare to Superman, who had absorbed thirty years of sunlight, his inherent physical quality was already high.
After all, he was once Krypton's military leader, genetically predisposed to be a warrior since birth, and had undergone countless training sessions and battles. His combat proficiency was almost maxed out, and his body's absorption and adaptation to sunlight were incredibly fast.
Superman had been on Earth for so many years and only learned to fly after he became an adult, yet Zod, after arriving on Earth, could fly after less than a day of sunlight exposure.
This wasn't because Superman was weak, nor was Zod exceptionally abnormal.
Rather, Superman had been exposed to sunlight for a longer period, so his body's various aspects were likely close to their adaptive limit—though this limit was somewhat subjective.
Zod, on the other hand, was like a dry sponge suddenly dropped into a pool, rapidly absorbing water.
He wasn't fully saturated yet, but he was still continuously growing stronger.
By using the Speed Force, Qingshui could still fight Zod to a standstill, but once the Speed Force ran out, he would be nothing but a punching bag.
It was time to change the battle strategy!
Qingshui parried Zod's punches, while the White Knight's left arm glowed blue.
An intense chill spread, accompanied by a freezing ray.
Zod sidestepped, but the freezing ray still grazed his arm.
Frost appeared, quickly solidifying into ice, freezing half of Zod's body.
A cracking sound echoed as cracks appeared on the ice surface.
With Zod's current strength, a slight exertion of force would be enough to shatter the ice and break free.
But all Qingshui wanted was to create an opportunity.
The Kryptonite dagger was unsheathed, aimed directly at Zod's face.
"Aargh!!!"
A pained shriek erupted from Zod's mouth.
Under the Kryptonite's glow, Zod's body, floating mid-air, stumbled, and his strength simultaneously weakened.
At this moment, he was using his unfrozen hand to push against White Knight's elbow, struggling to pry it open.
But weakened by the Kryptonite's light, he was still a beat too slow, resulting in one of his eyes being poked out by the Kryptonite.
"Boom!"
A violent roar sounded, and Qingshui stumbled in turn.
A small Kryptonian spaceship hovered in the sky.
It was this spaceship that had just fired an energy cannon, hitting Qingshui, and Zod had used that opportunity to break free.
"Damn it, Batman!"
Qingshui couldn't help but curse into the radio.
Because just now, this spaceship had been tangled up by Batman in the Batplane, but now it had been let go.
"Sorry, my Batplane crashed, and the other one hasn't reached Metropolis yet."
Batman, who had just ejected from the Batplane and was descending using his cape as bat wings, replied over the comms.
"I'm barely holding on here!"
Qingshui complained, watching Zod struggle to fly back into the sky from the ground.
Only Batman's silence answered Qingshui.
The next moment, several more Kryptonian spaceships flew down from the main vessel.
Fortunately, however, the white general, who had witnessed this scene via footage in the command center, gave the order for the circling U.S. military fighter jets high in the sky to come down and assist.
The performance of these fighter jets was nowhere near that of the Batplane, let alone the Kryptonian spaceships that could operate in space, but they made up for it in sheer numbers.
All combat units from the Kansas military base departed at this moment, aiming to tie down the Kryptonian spaceships.
Regardless of what intentions those high-ranking military and government officials had, they at least knew that if there was no Earth, no humans, they wouldn't survive either.
Zod floated mid-air, clutching his injured eye, his other eye slightly narrowed, glowing red.
I finished writing earlier today, so I'll write a bit more later to see if I can get another chapter or two done, as a bonus update for the previous monthly pass event.
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